Ladder



Jan. 17, 1939. R. w. HULL 2,144,293

LADDER Filed Aug. 26, 1935 Q mi Patented Jan. 17, 1939 LADDER Robert W. Hull, Connersville, Ind., assignor to Rex Manufacturing Company, Connersvillc, Ind., a corporation of Indiana Application August 26, 1935, Serial No. 37,970

8 Claims.

This invention relates to a ladder of metal having wood inserts or reinforcements.

Heretofore ladders have been constructed of various materials, in various ways and used for various purposes. lacked certain desirable features and have been found to be of clumsy and bulky construction, expensive, subject to breakage easily andtherefore unsafe, susceptible to deterioration on account of weather conditions, moisture, insects and other causes.

It is an object of the invention to provide a new improved ladder of more durable, flexible, reliable and less expensive yet safer and stronger construction and capable of resisting the inroads of time, weather and insects.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved process of forming and fabricating a. ladder.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing wherein,

Fig. 1 is a front. elevation of a ladder constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2, a side elevation of the same except that the wooden strips are of sectional construction;

Fig. 3, an exploded view showing one side of the ladder in cross-section and a rung located therein;

Fig. 4, a fragmentary inside view of one of the side members showing in section a rung secured in place;

Fig. 5, a detail illustrating the manner in which the rung is fastened in the side member; and,

Fig. 6 is a transverse section through one of the side members of the ladder.

Referring to the drawing, the ladder shown comprises wooden side members or fillers III which are provided with metal casings or covers II. The extremities of the filler members II] project beyond the extremities of the metal covers or sheaths and are roundedas shown in order that the lower end of the ladder will rest solidly upon a support and the upper end of the ladder will solidly engage a wall or the like against which the ladder rests when in position. The side members are connected by means of rungs formed of wooden inserts l2 and metal casings l3 therefor.

The metal sheaths or covers for the side members .f the ladder as best shown in Fig. 6, are

provided with internal ribs M for strengthening and for securing better engagement between the covers II and the wooden inserts It). The inner However, these ladders have edges l5 of each metal sheath are crimped into the wooden filler I0 to form a tight seal therewith and sufficiently to be countersunk and have their outer surfaces flush with the exposed surface of the wooden filler.

The rungs of the ladder are of a diameter corresponding to the distance of the spacing of the edges IS in order that the rungs may be seated or securely anchored or 'fastened therein, the wood filler members I!) being provided with a socket or receiving opening l6 of a diameter substantially corresponding to the external diameter of the rung. The end of each rung is secured in the socket in the side member by a key or wedge member I I which deforms the metal casing for the rung outwardly, providing bulges ll, into the wooden insert as shown in Figs. 4 and 5. Each wooden insert I2 is provided with a longitudinal peripheral groove l8 to receive the end of the turned edges IQ of the metal which forms the metal casing l3.

It will be readily understood from the preceding description that the ladder just described consists of metal sidecasings, each of which is mounted upon or encloses a wooden filler member of a unitary or sectional or spliced construction with its ends projecting from the top and bottom of the ladder or not as desired to form a vertical support for the base of the ladder and a lateral support for the upper end of the ladder.

The ladder can be constructed in a number of different ways by hand or by machinery but in actual experience, I have found that the more tightly united the wood and metal members are, the more improved is the finished article and consequently reduced cross-sectional dimensions can be employed.

Where lumber is difficult to obtain in considerable lengths, short sections can readily be employed, the joint between the sections being preferably tapered as shown in Fig. 2 to cause a wedging of the several sections.

In assembling the ladder, rungs are applied one at a time in one section or a group of rungs are placed simultaneously in such side sections and an opposed side section is placed in position and the two side sections are forced each toward the other. It will be readily appreciated of course that before the. side sections have the rungs applied that such side sections must be provided with rung receiving sockets l6 and wedges I I placed in position in such sockets so'that the wedging action shown in Fig. 5, will be accomplished when the sides of the ladder are pressed together.

It will be readily apparent that a ladder of the above described construction is not only of less weight than ordinary ladders in use at the present time but also of less bulky construction, of many times greater strength, durability, flexibility and free from the many objectionable features ordinarily encountered.

The ladder may be treated to prevent wood insects from attacking the wood and the metal may be of the corrosion resistant type. With a ladder of this construction when the upper extremity is placed against an offset, the ladder will yieldingly twist to accommodate itself to its lateral support.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made in my device without departing from the spirit of the invention and therefore I do not limit myself to what is shown in the drawing and described in the specification but only as indicated in the appended claims.

I claim:

7 1. A ladder comprising longitudinally ribbed metal side casings and metal rungs provided with Wooden filler pieces, said metal side casings being clamped about the wooden filler pieces into responding to the distance between spaced edges tight contact therewith, and in such relation thereto that at least one filler piece projects from at least one metal side casing.

2. A ladder comprising side members, each formed of a longitudinally ribbed metal casing and a wooden insert, and rungs connecting said side members, said rungs being formed of metal casings with wooden inserts, said rungs having their extremities'anchored in said side members, and a wedge at the end of each rung within the casings of the side members deforming the ends of the rung casing for maintaining the rung in anchored position in said side member.

3. A ladder comprising side members, each having a metal casing anda wooden filler member, said metal casing being pressed into intimate contact with said flller member and having its edges disposed in spaced relation, said filler member having rung sockets 01' a diameter corof the casing.

4. A ladder comprising side members, each having a metal casing and a wooden flller member, said metal casing being pressed into intimate contact with said filler member and having its edges disposed in spaced relation, said filler member having rung sockets of a diameter corresponding to the distance between spaced edges of the casing, a wedge in the bottom of said socket and having its extremities tapered and forming a metal casing for the rung located in said socket for anchoring the rung in the side member.

5. A ladder comprising side members, each formed of a metal casing with an insert, said metal casing being provided with longitudinal reenforcing ribs and said insert being configured to conform to the ribbed portion of the casing, the edges of the metal casing being pressed into intimate relation with the said filler, and in such relation thereto that at least one end of said insert projects from said casing.

6. A ladder comprising side members, each formed of a metal casing with an insert, said metal casing being provided with longitudinal reenforcing ribs and said insert being configured to conform to the ribbed portion of the casing, the edges of the metal casing being pressed into intimate relation with the said filler with the remote ends of the filler projecting beyond the ends of the casing.

7. A ladder comprising metal encased side members and metal encased rungs connecting said side members, and wedges enclosed within the side member casings and engaging in the extremities of said rungs anchoring the rungs to the side members.

8. A relatively strong flexible ladder comprising metal encased side members and metal encased rungs, the casing for each rung being formed of a substantially cylindrical sleeve with an inner seam formed by the abutting edge portions of the metal, said rung having a longitudinal groove receiving said seam.

ROBERT W. HULL. 

